Newly approved joint checkpoint plan will damage Hong Kong’s rule of law, legal heavyweights say
Group of six lawyers led by Philip Dykes SC issues statement against arrangement for mainland laws to be applied at West Kowloon terminus of high-speed rail link
A group of legal heavyweights, who will be contesting the Bar Association election next month, have criticised the newly approved joint checkpoint plan for a cross-border rail link, saying the controversial scheme will damage Hong Kong’s rule of law and undermine the confidence of the public.
The six-person list led by Philip Dykes SC – a prominent human rights lawyer who is vying for the top post on the Bar Council, the association’s governing body – made their comments on Wednesday. The other five members of the group, Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun, the former law dean of the University of Hong Kong, Lawrence Lok Ying-kam SC, Erik Shum Sze-man, Joe Chan Wai-yin and Randy Shek, are aiming for council membership.
Speaking on a RTHK programme on Thursday, Chan said the National People’s Congress Standing Committee’s decision was tantamount to creating a “new path” for itself to change Hong Kong’s law.
“This was the NPCSC’s decision – how could it change Hong Kong’s legal basis or provide a legal basis for a controversial issue in Hong Kong? This is a new path that affects ‘one country, two systems’,” Chan said, referring to the model by which Beijing governs Hong Kong.
